Nintendo's First Samurai: Takamaru for SSB4 (Final Request: Ask the US HW devs to add Takamaru)

[AncientTobacco]

What do think? Do you like the idea? Or would it maybe be better off having the bag as an item that you can choose to take the risk of opening?

Yeah, I think having the bag as an item would be better. An AT that backfires on the summoner could be annoying.

 

[FlareHabanero]

The point about him not using his sword often makes me think he would have a primarily hand-to-hand style with sword strikes being saved for stronger hits (aside from the projectiles).

Laijutsu, my friend.

Though, it's worth mentioning that in Samurai Warriors 3, the katana is his main form of combat.

 

[Pacack]

Yeah, I think having the bag as an item would be better. An AT that backfires on the summoner could be annoying.

I'm sort of leaning that way too, honestly.

Laijutsu, my friend.

Though, it's worth mentioning that in Samurai Warriors 3, the katana is his main form of combat.

Well, that's a non-canonical appearance from what I understand. Sakurai might use stuff from that just to give him some sort of references in his a moves.

 

[FlareHabanero]

The Myserious Murasame Castle has very few things that are canon, considering the only installment only provided quick exposition as to why the events of the game are happening like any other NES/Famicom game.

We know that Takamaru is skilled with the sword and throwing weapons, along with fireballs, invincibility, and lightning, who character's traits are being young and his personality only suggesting implications of being determined.
We know the events of The Myserious Murasame Castle take place in ancient Japan, during the time Shogun Togukawa Ietsuna in Yotsuya Tokyo.
We know about how the Murasame statue used to be treasured by the local folk, before being possessed by a mysterious evil force.
We know about the four neighboring castles, where the daimyos were corrupted by the evil force.

So on and so forth.

Meanwhile, something like Murasame Mode in Samurai Warriors 3 is at the moment ambiguous in terms of canon. Obviously Murasame Mode is supposed to be treated like a pseudo-sequel, so it acts like one with more fleshed out characters and story and stuff, but at the same time it can easily be retconned.

 

[Pacack]

The Myserious Murasame Castle has very few things that are canon, considering the only installment only provided quick exposition as to why the events of the game are happening like any other NES/Famicom game.

We know that Takamaru is skilled with the sword and throwing weapons, along with fireballs, invincibility, and lightning, who character's traits are being young and his personality only suggesting implications of being determined.
We know the events of The Myserious Murasame Castle take place in ancient Japan, during the time Shogun Togukawa Ietsuna in Yotsuya Tokyo.
We know about how the Murasame statue used to be treasured by the local folk, before being possessed by a mysterious evil force.
We know about the four neighboring castles, where the daimyos were corrupted by the evil force.

So on and so forth.

Meanwhile, something like Murasame Mode in Samurai Warriors 3 is at the moment ambiguous in terms of canon. Obviously Murasame Mode is supposed to be treated like a pseudo-sequel, so it acts like one with more fleshed out characters and story and stuff, but at the same time it can easily be retconned.

(For the record, the mysterious force actually is an alien entity. Like, from space.)

Sakurai might take something from it, but I have a feeling he might instead focus on his abilities from the original game. Just a hunch, though.

 

[FlareHabanero]

Actually, it's ambiguous as to what the force exactly was, but it wasn't anything regarding to aliens.

Also, his abilities will obviously be based around his characteristics as mentioned above (Takamaru is skilled with the sword and throwing weapons).

 

[Pacack]

Actually, it's ambiguous as to what the force exactly was, but it wasn't anything regarding to aliens.

Also, his abilities will obviously be based around his characteristics as mentioned above (Takamaru is skilled with the sword and throwing weapons).

I asked a Japanese speaker about the literal translation and it does mean "cosmic force". That, and the final boss is kinda sorta that alien.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

Here's a compilation of my Takamaru Miiverse posts from old to new. I'm surprised that I'm getting better.

 

[Soupeschleg]

I see Takamaru as a little more-than-likely at this point. Little Mac was a rep for the West, so it would make sense to have a parallel character for Japan in Takamaru. Would be pretty tight if you ask me.

 

[Banjodorf]

I see Takamaru as a little more-than-likely at this point. Little Mac was a rep for the West, so it would make sense to have a parallel character for Japan in Takamaru. Would be pretty tight if you ask me.

I pretty much feel the same way. For some odd reason, I parallel the two of them as well, despite their games never connecting save for in Captain Rainbow. There's been too many things going well for Takamaru lately for him to miss out this time, is my thinking. Besides, the west finally got a taste of his series in Nintendoland. Time to bring out the face!

 

[LF2K]

Only in Smash would a Japanese samurai and a boxer from the Bronx work so well together. I guess they compliment each other is because their both from our world (abet from different time periods), not one of Nintendo's worlds.

Come to think about it, Mac, Takamaru, and Snake (and R.O.B, perhaps) are the only characters from a world that's not made up.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Only in Smash would a Japanese samurai and a boxer from the Bronx work so well together. I guess they compliment each other is because their both from our world (abet from different time periods), not one of Nintendo's worlds.

Come to think about it, Mac, Takamaru, and Snake (and R.O.B, perhaps) are the only characters from a world that's not made up.

Earthicans Represent.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

I see Takamaru as a little more-than-likely at this point. Little Mac was a rep for the West, so it would make sense to have a parallel character for Japan in Takamaru. Would be pretty tight if you ask me.

A long time ago, I thought it'd have been the coolest thing ever if Takamaru paralleled a Mike Jones reveal but honestly, this works better given the relative levels of love the western and eastern hemispheres have for Little Mac and Takamaru respectively.

 

[andimidna]

I support Takamaru

 

[Soupeschleg]

potential home stage for Tak if he's in? Seems like every franchise represented will get at least one stage. Options are pretty limited for him, but I would guess some sort of Dojo-looking thing.

 

[Deleted member]

I can imagine a Takamaru stage to be outside of a Japanese castle area. I can see his stage get the water-color look that Okami and Captain Rainbow have in their art styles.

If Takamaru got in, I would definitely be excited for his stage. I am interested in Japanese culture and I bet the stage would look gorgeous in HD.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

So... [conjecture from excitement]

Today's update details a trophy of Little Mac as he appeared in a highly obscure and JPN only release called Captain Rainbow. Sakurai saw fit to reference this wholly out there franchise while also paying homage to a character currently in the roster in one fell swoop. Even more interestingly is the premise of the game. In Captain Rainbow, the titular character was someone who helped forgotten Nintendo characters get into prime form for their next appearances. Among the people he helped is Takamaru.

[/conjecture from excitement]

 

[Arcadenik]

I love Okami. One of my favorite Wii games of all time.

Takamaru for Smash!

 

[Spazzy_D]

Since Megaman and Little Mac were confirmed, Takamaru has been bumped up to my top 5 most wanted.

I really feel like Nintendo is gearing up for a Myserious Murasame Castle revamp, the game has been getting a lot of attention int he last few years.

 

[AustarusIV]

I'm all for Takamaru. I've never actually played his game, in fact I barely knew anything about it before getting into Smash speculation, but the idea of playing as a Japanese swordsman from the Edo period is just too cool to pass on. He could probably even take over Marth's position as "the one guy who speaks entirely in Japanese".

 

[Deleted member]

With Captain Rainbow referenced, I say that characters like Takamaru and Lip are slightly more likely. For all we know, Sakurai added Captain Rainbow on the roster. Well… this will be rather interesting…

 

[Speculator]

Definitely interesting to see a Captain Rainbow trophy today. Looks like he isn't shying away from the obscure stuff this time.

 

[Deleted member]

Definitely interesting to see a Captain Rainbow trophy today. Looks like he isn't shying away from the obscure stuff this time.

I'm just surprised his game got referenced of all things. This game is SUPER obscure. It sold so badly that they cancelled the European port. EarthBound may of had poor sales in America, but CR's sales didn't even reach 20000.

I heard that Sakurai is a fan of the game. Seeing it referenced here does bode well for other characters.

 

[LF2K]

Captain Rainbow getting referenced is definitely a good sign for Takamaru's inclusion. Maybe even Nick or Rainbow are in, too.

 

[Capybara Gaming]

Hoping for Mac, Takamaru, Lip, and Andy (we cant just have the units) and Rainbow to all make the cut in this title.

 

[egaddmario]

Dat. Pic. of. the. day.

 

[Fatmanonice]

This update strongly implies that we're going to get more Captain Rainbow references in this game at the very least and with Takamaru arguably being the most highlighted retro character in the game, I think this bodes well for him.

 

[APC99]

I'd say that Takamaru and Lip have had their chances slightly increased, with their own trophies probably added. I hope this means a lot of retro characters.

 

[FlareHabanero]

This update strongly implies that we're going to get more Captain Rainbow references in this game at the very least and with Takamaru arguably being the most highlighted retro character in the game, I think this bodes well for him.

Worst case scenario, this at least means we'll probably get a Captain Rainbow version of Takamaru appearing as a trophy.

 

[BluePikmin11]

The nosebleed should be part of the trophy too.

 

[Bingoshi]

Okay... So Takamaru starred in Samurai Warriors 3, he was an important character in Captain Rainbow (which now has been referenced in SSB4), had a game in Nintendo Land, his original game is apparently going to come to the west for the first time ever soon, Sakurai's "1986" comment, and he's japans most requested retro character... All of this stuff really does make it seem like he has a big chance to make it in this time. But there's one last thing I wanted to bring up... I know it might not be a big deal, but when you think about it, it's pretty weird. Take a look at this.

Do you notice something? No? Well look on top of the Mii's head... What is that? It looks like some sort of bow... Now you're probably thinking "who cares", right? Well here's why it's strange... That bow thing was never on Takamaru in any official art picture I've seen... It seems to be something they just added... But why? It's an odd little detail, especially for a Mii you never see in actual gameplay. Could there already be a Takamaru redesign that this Mii's costume is based on? That's just a theory, but it's still something, I guess... Maybe Takamaru will be wearing something like that in his hair in SSB4? If so, it would confirm my theory.

 

[bksbestbwoy]

Bingoshi, where did you get your avatar? That's so nice looking, I'm tempted to steal it for use elsewhere. lol

 

[Bingoshi]

Bingoshi, where did you get your avatar? That's so nice looking, I'm tempted to steal it for use elsewhere. lol

Thanks! A DeviantART user named "jmatchead" made it. I liked it so much, I used it as my avatar. I like your avatar too, actually. It's of Mike Jones from StarTropics, and Mike is awesome.

 

[Marakatu]

I support Takamaru. I am obsessed with Famicom Disk System. I play The Legend of Zelda and Kid Icarus in Japanese just to hear the extra track on the background music. I used to have a YouTube channel with Famicom Disk System music, but it's been some years since I last updated it. Takamaru is one of the FDS original characters, for God's sake! If he doesn't make it, I'll be very disappointed as a fan and my OCD will go nuts.

 

[Yomi's Biggest Fan]

View attachment 10079

Do you notice something? No? Well look on top of the Mii's head... What is that? It looks like some sort of bow... Now you're probably thinking "who cares", right? Well here's why it's strange... That bow thing was never on Takamaru in any official art picture I've seen... It seems to be something they just added... But why? It's an odd little detail, especially for a Mii you never see in actual gameplay. Could there already be a Takamaru redesign that this Mii's costume is based on? That's just a theory, but it's still something, I guess... Maybe Takamaru will be wearing something like that in his hair in SSB4? If so, it would confirm my theory.

That "bow" is just their half-assed attempt at recreating Takamaru's ponytail.

 

[Bingoshi]

That "bow" is just their half-***** attempt at recreating Takamaru's ponytail.

Lol, could be. I mean, it wouldn't be hard to just give the Mii a ponytail if that's what they were going for, would it? But you may be right, and I'm just looking too deep into things.

 

[Fatmanonice]

Worst case scenario, this at least means we'll probably get a Captain Rainbow version of Takamaru appearing as a trophy.

Exactly. There's now a freakishly high chance that he'll be in the game at the very least.

 

[Pacack]

Takamaru confirmed.

 

[Banjodorf]

I just don't see them teasing Takamaru lately (Nintendoland, rumors of NnMj coming to the States, Samurai Warriors if you wanna go far back, and also that one rumor about him popping up in Hyrule Warriors, dubious as it may be.) and Sakurai not taking advantage of it. To top it off, he's probably the most popular Retro character worldwide.

I've been wrong before, so maybe not, but I feel the same way about Takamaru right now I did about Little Mac before February, only this time there's even fewer people saying "No, they aren't going to add him, how would they even DO that?"

 

[LaniusShrike]

Laijutsu, my friend.

Though, it's worth mentioning that in Samurai Warriors 3, the katana is his main form of combat.

Just an FYI, It's Iaijutsu starting with a a capital "i", not an L.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iaijutsu for people who wanna read up on it.

So, how do people vote that he uses the quickdraw technique? Should he...
1. Always have his sword sheathed except when he's attacking
2. Have a special that makes him sheathe it with other inputs doing special attacks
3. Be a stance based character and switch between sheathed/unsheathed?